weekend_celebrations

As part of our August road trip through California, we plan to side trip from Yosemite to Las Vegas. While the idea of Death Valley adventure/ new scenery excites us, both main driver and passengers strongly oppose the experience of "edge of cliff" driving. (let me put an example: we had to turn back 1/3 of the way from reaching the peak of Mt. Washington in NH- too uncomfortable!!).
Is there a way to do it without the "edge of cliff" type driving? if there are several options- is there one that is more scenic than the other? if we are leaving Yosemite late afternoon, where does it make sense to stop- (2-3 hrs driving from Yosemite)?
(note that long distances of leveled driving do not scare us- think yearly 24hr straight pilgrimage to Miami from Boston)
Thank you!

michele_d

Hi,
Look at this pic and see if this type of drop off would bother you.

http://www.fratzke.com/yosemite2/pages/Image36.html

This is the eastern entrance to Yosemite. If you do not want to drive this direction to Las Vegas then you will need to go south on the 99 and cut across to Vegas via the 58 and 15. It is 150 miles more than going through the east exit.

This needs to be your first decision then we can help you determine where to stay overnight.

propita

That was such a good idea to provide a pic for OP! Kudos!

janisj

Death Valley in August is really not the best idea - since you say Vegas is a 'side trip' maybe you can avoid the whole dilemma. (Las Vegas in August isn't that great either)

nytraveler

Do you really want to be touring around in temps well over a hundred degrees if you can;t really get out of the car?

The cliff drive seems perfectly safe - there is, after all, a stone wall there - not just a row of driveway reflectors as found near some of the Italian lakes.

weekend_celebrations

Michele_d: thank you for the picture! this does not look that bad. all: thank you for your comments, but we really want to see LV on this trip (already pre-paid the hotel)
now, if we go south on 99 rt per Michele_d- we we avoid the Death Valley or just the cliffs?
-if there is a strong opinion that we need to avoid Death Valley for heat at the end of August, is there a way to do it? how long would that drive be and where would we stop 2-3 hrs out of Yosemite?
thank you everyone for your valuable input!!

weekend_celebrations

and if we do go the Death Valley route, how long is the drive through the heat part where we cant leave the car? (we are interested in seeing it even if from the window). thank you all

michele_d

The problem you will have when you leave Yosemite, either direction, is that once you go lower in elevation, there is going to be heat, and lots of it in August.

If you are okay with driving out the east side (the pic I showed you) then just head on over to Tonopah or down to Bishop and spend the night and then drive the last few hours the next day really early to avoid the heat. You should get into Vegas around noon then.

If you head south on the 99 you will add several hours to the trip and it is really a lousy drive. There is nothing to see. I live in Tehachapi, in the mountains and trust me when I say that when we have to make the drive north on the 99 we just do it, but it is nothing special.

If you want to head down the 395 from the east entrance to Yosemite than you can stop in Bishop or Independence. These are nice little towns, but they will be really hot in August because they are lower in elevation, Bishop especially can reach 110 easily.

I would recommend just stopping somewhere, anywhere for the night and then getting up really early to make the drive to Vegas, to avoid the worst of the heat.

dwooddon

I live right on the edge of the Mohave desert and we have many days in August that exceed 110 degrees and some that go above 115 degrees. It can get even hotter in Death Valley.

Where I live, we have good cell phone service and help is close at hand if we have car problems or issues with the heat. Some places in Death Valley have no cell service (or sat least it didn't the last time I was there a couple of years ago).

I drive between my home and SoCal when I need to in the summer because I-15 is heavily patrolled. I do not go to Death Valley at that time of year. Chances are, you will be OK if you do but in that heat, that far out, you can be in very bad trouble very quickly if something does go wrong.

If you do go, bring lots of water in your car. When you have enough, bring more.

janisj

I'd follow michele-d's suggestion and go via Bishop. And then get a VERY early morning start the next day so you can see a bit of DV before the tires burn off your car.

Do not go via 99/ Bakersfield . . . That can be almost as hot but has no redeeming qualities like the eastern route(s).

(What is it with all these Fodorites who think DV and LV are fun places in August? ).

Amy_Hoff

we are doing the same trip in late June. I am planning on driving out of Yosemite down 395 to Lone Pine, Ca. Spending the night then getting up early to drive through death valley (190) then over to las vegas. I have no idea what the cliffs look like or the temp. But thats our plan.

Amy_Hoff

ps... We did make it to the the top of Mt Washington 2 years ago. It was the scariest drive ever!

michele_d

Well, thanks to this post I will be crossing Mt Washington off my list of day trips when we visit NH this fall. I do not like those scarey roads either. We went over the mountains from Austria to Italy on a 'scenic' road. Scared the you know what out of me so bad I got out and actually walked part of it, especially the downhill part. Yikes! The road east out of Yosemite is absolutely nothing like that. You will be fine. Hot...but fine.

weekend_celebrations

Thank you all for the comments. Leaving yosemite via eastern side late afternoon (6pm), driving via bishop overnite and then continuing on at 7 am should help us avoid the worst of the heat, right?

weekend_celebrations

To explain las vegas side trip for those curious- its just that we would never justify a separate trip there from the east coast...so taking this opp

MichelleY

Leave Yosemite earlier so you can stop, enjoy the views. So beautiful. Driving straight thru to Bishop will take at least 3 hours. You will have air conditioning in the car you run into any really hot weather.

weekend_celebrations

Ok, we'll leave by 3.. Amy hoff please report back after your trip. My website is www.celebratetheweekend.com if there isnt a way to message here. Thanks. vic

MichelleY

If you run into really hot weather.

Barbara

The scenery going from Yosemite Valley to the Tioga Pass is my favorite part of Yosemite.

Some years ago we stayed at the Best Western Creekside Inn in Bishop and it was excellent.

janisj

You really should leave before mid afternoon. I'd leave by noon at the latest. You'll want to stop lots for photo ops.